Why does former Australian health minister Sussan Ley have three Ss in her first name when two would suffice? And are the constituents of the New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian any better at pronouncing her surname?

With all the recent political comings and goings, these may feel like less urgent questions, but they’re no less interesting. Then again, I would say that wouldn’t I? For the past six years, I’ve written a regular column for the Guardian’s Mind your language section. So when others see political turmoil and ask, “What happens now?” I ask: “I wonder if nominative determinism played a part here?”

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Nominative determinism is when a name particularly suits its owner, and even determines what they’ll do in their future. For example, before her alliterative married name, the former Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop, had the stalwart surname “Setright”.

A name, then, matters more than you might think. In the case of Sussan Ley, that superfluous third “s” was added in by the outgoing minister herself. In 2015, she told the Australian newspaper: “I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality. I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring.” Careful what you wish for.

I wish for the opposite: I detest the superfluous “r” in Garry. It adds nothing to the pronunciation or meaning (and Sussan Ley has put me right off numerology). My nickname, though, must always be spelt with the double consonant: Gazz, never Gaz. Gaz is French for gas. I don’t want to self-brand as a French fart. Very unbecoming.

There is, of course, a great Aussie tradition of adding superfluous vowels to nicknames – even if it lengthens, rather than shortens them. This baffled me as a Brit when I met somebody through my work who was called “Rossco” by everybody – I thought that was his actual name. So I used it in formal greetings and emails (“Dear Rossco, excellent to meet you today and look forward to working together, kind regards, Gary”) – until I realised the joke was on me and his name was Ross. Cringe.

It’s a self-branding mechanism; Danielle Minogue added that superfluous “i” and “n” to Dannii, perhaps thinking that “Dani” was too pedestrian, or not memorable enough. Meanwhile, her sister recently revealed a forthcoming nominative change: she plans to take her husband’s name when they marry, telling the Daily Mail: “Kylie Sasse is a great name ... Kylie Minogue has never exactly tripped off the tongue.” She did, though, say that “Minogue will be in there somewhere” – so brand Minogue evolves, rather than dies.

A name tweak, though, surely beats a full rebrand. Unless you’re Elton John; he disliked the nominative determinism of his birth name, Reg Dwight. As he explains: “I didn’t particularly like being Reg Dwight – it had too many unhappy memories, and I hated the name Reg anyway. It’s horrible! Like calling somebody Cuthbert or Eggbert. So as soon as I was Elton, it was great: I had a new personality.”

Reg Dwight no more: Elton John is one of many celebrities to change their name. Photograph: Atlantico/REX/Shutterstock/Atlantico/Rex/Shutterstock

I rename therefore I am. Those who adjust, rather than altogether alter their names stay authentic to their roots, while giving themselves the identity and character they desire. Best of both worlds.

Then there are those who leave their names refreshingly untweaked and sit back while we struggle awkwardly with the pronunciation. Gladys Berejiklian is a great case in point here. Writing for Fairfax, Jenna Price hit on why:

She’s in a party filled with straight white men with straight white names and those people don’t represent us any more. Her surname is a metonym for Australia’s multiculturalism. In her inaugural speech to Parliament in 2003, Berejiklian expressed her great good fortune at being born and raised in Australia to Armenian parents and said she was proud of her cultural background: “This includes being proud of my surname. I thank the good people of Willoughby who voted for me, even though they could not pronounce it.”

The same logic applies to the premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, although she may have Anglicised the pronunciation of her surname. Nevertheless, both the NSW and Queensland premiers, by virtue of their gender and surnames, reflect a refreshingly diverse Australia – on a surface but not insignificant level.

To keep, tweak or completely change your name? These famous name tweaks may help you decide which is best:

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine brought her middle name, Zeta, into her new hyphenated surname. You’ve got to admit, it adds sparkle.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary’s actual middle name is Diane. Her relatively recent choice to bring her pre-married surname, Rodham, in as her middle name and that presidential tripartite initialism, HRC, has a long history, but to my mind is her way of saying: I’m more than just his wife. I have my own identity. I’m staying true to my roots.

Mae West

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There were two name tweaks that led to the queen of the double entendre’s persona. Christened as the virginal “Mary”, all her family called her “May”. But when carefully crafting that persona, Mae swapped the “y” for an “e”. In her biography, Becoming Mae West, Emily Worth Leider wrote how West remarked at the time that she disliked the way the y’s tail drooped below the line, and that she liked everything in her life upright and standing to attention – giving birth to that trailblazing, witty innuendo.

George Michael

Took the opposite route to Palaszczuk and Berejiklian by Anglicising his actual name, Georgios Panayiotou.

Katy Perry

Perry replaces Hudson, to avoid confusion with that other famous Kate. There’s only room for one at the top.